Know Thyself- Fostering Self Awareness To Achieve Peak Performance

In sport and life, having a deep and clear understanding of who you are can be a total game changer in achieving peak performance and reaching your goals. In a world filled with buzzing technology, more data than we know what to do with, and AI science looming, it is more important than ever for athletes to have a strong sense of who they are.

Sense Of Feel

Athletes must have a keen sense of what their body is telling them, even when their coach or some other outside force is saying something different. I always tell my athletes that I’m coaching them to learn how to better coach themselves. The journey towards reaching an athlete’s goal(s) is similar to reading a map. It’s a series of twists and turns and unexpected challenges requiring constant adjustment. If an athlete doesn’t know where they are, they will never reach their destination. My job as a coach is to teach my athletes how to read the map and navigate through the various ups and downs of life and training. Throughout this process we are both learning and understanding about what works and what doesn’t by training our self awareness. This journey is one of my favorite aspects of coaching and is often overlooked. Each training session is an opportunity to more deeply understand the inner constructs of the mind and body. Athletes constantly have to make in the moment decisions when the data isn’t obvious and their coach is not there to guide in the decision making process. The best athletes know what every workout and effort should feel like and when the feel is “off.”  

Confidence

Fostering self awareness can also help build self confidence. Athletes who know themselves and what drives them can use this to push harder in training and racing. Each workout is essentially a laboratory where through trial and error there is a feedback response that gives the athlete input on what is happening physiologically and psychologically. This intimate self knowledge allows the athlete to more quickly interpret how they feel, therefore becoming more present and able to make momentary decisions. These decisions can be more important than the best laid training plans.

Working With Your Coach To Find the Right Training Balance

As a coach it is my job to make sure my athletes understand what is expected of them each training session. I act as a guide by intrinsically motivating and actively involving them in the decision making process. There is always a constant running dialogue between us for each training session as well as a thorough review of each performance. Involving them in the decision making process and encouraging critical thinking builds competence and allows some flexibility within the training program to make adjustments based on their lifestyles. This reflection allows the opportunity to take a birds eye view of their training and recovery, as well as provides me with more detailed feedback so we can work together to to find the “sweet spot” of training/recovery/work/life balance.

Additional Ways to Promote Self Awareness

Yoga- allows the student to focus on their breath and develop a stronger connection between the mind and body.

Meditation/mindfulness- sitting still with focused breath work allows the student to become more adept at watching and controlling their thoughts.

Journaling- putting pen to paper can be very therapeutic and offers time to reflect on their process. Each journaling session is a purging of undigested feelings and emotions that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Remembering to breathe- setting reminders in your phone to relax and take a few breaths is a great way to take a moment to become more present.

Working one on one with a coach- having someone in your corner to encourage and facilitate various ways to promote self awareness in life and training. Coaches hold their athletes accountable for completion of training, daily communication, and offer constructive criticism to promote learning and growing to be the best athlete they can be.

For more information about coaching- https://www.purenergyperformance.com/coaching

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